In the past, most pickup truck type vehicles possessed a cargo box typically large enough to completely contain a four foot wide by eight foot long ("four by eight") panel of material. This was a prime requirement of many purchasers of pickups, since many of these persons were engaged in the building and construction trade, and the standard size of many sheet products used in the trade is four by eight.
However, with the increase in smaller imported vehicles, including pickups, more strict requirements for fuel economy, higher insurance for larger vehicles, and perhaps other factors, smaller pickups with smaller cargo box dimensions have become popular in the recent past. When such smaller pickups are used for the carriage of standard size building materials, the materials must be placed and/or secured at some other location than completely within the box. While one edge of such material may be placed within the box, the opposite edge will extend beyond the upper edge of the opposite sidewall and be subject to wind gusts or other upsetting forces which may damage the material or possibly cause it to be blown completely from the vehicle cargo box.
Even if such material were secured within the cargo box, a problem arises when it is desired to place additional bulky, heavy and/or non planar material in the box with the sheet material. Even in the case of larger pickups capable of carrying four by eight material completely within the cargo box, the bulky objects must be placed on top of the sheet material in order to achieve the most efficient loading. If it is desired to remove the sheet material first, any other objects atop the sheet material must also be removed and then reloaded.
One alternative is the overhead rack. Such racks are well known and may be fitted to virtually any size pickup type vehicle as well as others. While such overhead racks alleviate the problems associated with cargo boxes smaller than the sheet material to be carried and the carriage of additional objects with such sheet material, such racks are generally of such a size and weight so as to preclude their being quickly and easily removed or installed. They are generally left in place once installed, which results in poorer access to the cargo area and therefore less flexibility for the vehicle, as well as reducing vertical clearance. Moreover, the placement and removal of long and/or sheet material of large dimensions from the overhead rack is relatively awkward, generally requiring two persons, in comparison with the placement or removal of such material from the pickup box which is located at a lower, more accessible level.
The need arises for a rack which may be temporarily affixed to and removed from a pickup truck type vehicle or the like, which is capable of easily carrying relatively long and/or large sheet material of at least four by eight size or larger. The rack must leave the majority of the truck box open for the carriage of other objects, and permit the placement or removal of materials from the rack by a single person without undue effort, as well as permitting the rack itself to be quickly and easily removed from the vehicle by a single person without undue effort and must be capable of being carried within the cargo bed of the vehicle when not installed. The rack and attachments must permit a relatively rigid installation, as well as secure carriage of any materials placed thereon.